Smoke and Mirrors

Unheeded Warnings

,,I'm not pitiful and I'm not weak! I'm fine without all of you!"

******

Nya was staring at the ninja in silence.

After the group returned to the waiting girl, they hesitantly announced their loss. To the ninja's surprise, Nya did not lecture them nor exploded in anger. She only stared at them in disappointment with narrowed eyes.

,,Um, aren't you mad at us, Nya?" Jay asked anxiously as he fidgeted with his hands. Having Nya angry was one thing, but having her so angry that she was speechless was something else.

,,Oh, I am mad, but I think you should worry more about what Master Wu is going to say." Nya hissed through her teeth. All of the ninja gulped and exchanged worried glances. They weren't looking forward to breaking the bad news to their Sensei.

,,Not only you lost Lloyd twice , but you also left him on the mountain! After an avalanche no less!" Nya was starting to lose her cool. Jay winced.

,,Okay, we know that sounds bad, but-"

Nya quickly cut him off. ,,How do you think Master Wu will feel not knowing whether his nephew is safe and sound?"

Kai raised his hands defensively. ,,Hey, I'm sure the kid's fine-"

His sister's eye twitched. ,,Fine? How could he be possibly fine after-"

Cole cleared his throat loudly. ,,C'mon, the kid is agile, I'm sure he got out of harm's way in time. Maybe he wasn't on the mountain by the time that avalanche came around!"

Zane raised a brow skeptically. ,,It's very unlikely that Lloyd was far away enough to-" He stopped as the other ninja threw a glare at him. ,,Did... I say something wrong?"

The others groaned while Nya sighed and shook her head. ,,It's far too late to look for the kiddo now. We have no other choice but to go back to the monastery." With that she turned towards Kai's dragon and started walking towards it. She turned back to the ninja who were still glued to their spots. ,,Well?"

Jay bit his lip nervously. ,,I don't think I'll be able to look Sensei in the eyes after this."

Cole was looking down to the ground. ,,We couldn't even catch a kid. What kind of ninja-" He shook his head. ,,No, it was my fault, I should've been a better leader. I'm sorry I didn't-" He was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder. It was Kai.

,,No, the blame is on me. I should've called you guys the moment I had Lloyd on sight back in the Jamanakai village." His eyes darted to Nya. ,,I was being too full of myself."

Nya frowned. ,,Kai... You couldn't have known that Lloyd was going to put up a bigger fight than expected-"

Zane perked up. ,,Actually, Lloyd having more fighting experience than other kids his age was very likely due to his previous-"

Kai growled loudly as he flailed his arms in frustration. ,,I got beat by a kid! And I'm a ninja!"

,,Kai, it was the weird invisible thing that landed the finishing blows, remember? You said that yourself. If it weren't for it, you would have had Lloyd." Nya stated.

Kai fumed for a moment before sighing in resignation. ,,Well, you're right, but this whole thing shouldn't have been a struggle. It should've been an easy task."

Everyone stood with gloomy looks on their faces. Cole looked thoughtful for a moment before his face turned into one of determination.

,,Guys, we shouldn't let this one loss get into our heads like this. We will tell Sensei what happened, but we'll keep on looking for Lloyd. We're not going to stop until we find him." He paused. ,,Dead or alive."